Lobivia haematantha (Speg.) Britton & Rose

🌱 Morphology
    A form of this small, globose to oval cactus, generally solitary and occasionally clumping, with a green to grey-green epidermis. It develops around 12 or more well-marked ribs, with closely spaced areoles. The most striking feature of this form is its spination: it has 1 to 4 robust central spines, black turning grey with age, clearly curved or hooked and directed outwards. The radial spines are shorter and thinner. It has a napiform root that allows it to explore the deeper layers of the soil.

🌍 Distribution, habitat and family
It comes from northwestern Argentina, mainly from the province of Salta, from Cachipampa and the Cachi area to high mountain areas near Piedra del Molino, at approximately 2,400 to 3,750 m above sea level. It lives in dry mountain environments, among rocks and xerophilous vegetation. It belongs to the Cactaceae family, Cactoideae subfamily, Trichocereeae tribe. The former Lobivia haematantha subsp. kuehnrichii is now included in Lobivia haematantha in Joël Lodé's taxonomy. It is now considered merely a form or ecotype. 

❄️ Temperature · USDA Zone 8b–11b
It tolerates minimum temperatures of up to −9 ºC in dry and acclimatized specimens. Its high-altitude origin indicates a good adaptation to cold nights, although persistent moisture should be avoided during cold spells.

☀️ Lighting
It needs very intense light and several hours of direct sun to maintain compact growth and properly develop its characteristic dark spination. As a guideline during active growth, a DLI PAR of 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ is recommended.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter dormancy. During spring and summer, it develops its active growth and should only be watered thoroughly when the substrate has dried out completely. In autumn, watering is gradually reduced until it is kept completely dry during the winter.

🌸 Flowering
The flowers appear laterally on the upper part of the body and can be yellow, golden, orange, salmon or carmine, often with a white or greenish throat. They reach approximately 5 cm in diameter and provide a spectacular contrast with the dark, hooked spines.

🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, a fertilizer with a high content of assimilable calcium and low nitrogen levels is recommended, such as Desert CHOICE® Cactaceae, applied once a month when watering. Before flowering, it can be supplemented with Desert CHOICE® Flowering.

This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a technological square pot with a substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.

Gourmet pot of 8x8 cm